Let me start off by telling you a story about myself to show you what great humility looks like. Just kidding. Humility is a huge topic, but I want to talk to you about one aspect of it. We tend to think of humility as not boasting. Or like my dad used to say, “not tooting your own horn.” This is certainly part of being humble, but as C.S. Lewis points out in Mere Christianity, it’s perhaps the least worrisome form of pride. People who boast usually have a deficit of genuine encouragement in their life so they “fish” for praise by telling others how great they are. This is more childish than evil. We’ve all met people like this, and we almost feel sorry for them.
Repentance
What I want to talk about today is how pride and humility relate to the foundational practice of walking in repentance. The word repentance means “a change of mind.” When we first become Christians it’s like a 180 degree turnaround. We were going in one direction in the current of sin, and suddenly, we turned around and went the opposite way.
Repentance isn’t a one-time event, however. It’s an ongoing ethic in the life of a Christian that involves confession of sin, taking responsibility for sin and coming to grips with how our sin has hurt God and others.
I can’t think of anything that would so transform our relationship with God than practicing genuine repentance. If we are deficient in this area, we will find that we will constantly be frustrated in our pursuit of God. We can pray a lot, read the Bible, memorize Scripture, do ministry, give tithes and offerings, attend church, and even be considered within the church as someone who is spiritual. But it will amount to nothing but wood, hay and stubble, unless repentance is practiced.
It could be compared to the way oil is essential for a car. We might have a really nice car and every part is in mint condition. But if we don’t change the oil, the car will not run well, and it will eventually seize the engine and die. That’s how important repentance is in our lives.
I’ve seen it
As a pastor I’ve had many eyewitness experiences of watching this play out. An individual is very devoted to the church. Competent, hard working and knowledgeable of the Bible, they naturally rise to leadership in the church community. They become known for their devotion. But then—because they are human—they make some mistakes, usually in the realm of relationships. Either the pastor or one of the elders gently points out their error. Instead of admitting their wrong, taking responsibility and expressing sorrow—they do the exact opposite. They stubbornly refuse to admit anything, take no responsibility and feel absolutely no sorrow at all. In some cases, I’ve seen people even become offended and angry. And leave the church! Despite so many great qualities, they lacked the most important quality—humility.
This has been painful to watch through the years. When a person pridefully refuses to repent when being gently and clearly corrected by loving spiritual fathers and mothers in the church, they begin the gradual tumble downhill into sourness. Most leave the church. Many drop out of church completely. Some even drift from the faith. It’s sad.
What is the reason for these tragic stories? One day they are like shining stars in the church, even playing significant roles of leadership, but a few years go by—and they aren’t even attending a church! The beginning of the downfall is the same in every single one of these sad stories—prideful refusal to repent.
Adam and Eve
This problem has been around for a very long time. In fact, since the beginning. The first of these tragic stories of prideful refusal to repent happened with the first two people created—Adam and Eve.
They were placed in the beautiful Garden of Eden and lavished with all its abundance. They enjoyed fellowship with God and a relationship with each other untainted by sin. They had thousands of animals as pets, that they gave names to, and they feasted on luscious fruits and vegetables. It was perfection!
But the Lord commanded Adam: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17-17).
We know the story. Eve starts a dialogue with the serpent (Satan)—mistake #1. Even though she knew she should not eat of this particular tree, she did anyway. It was a rebellion against the command of the Creator! To make things worse, she gave some to her husband. Adam was perhaps even more in the wrong for eating of the tree since the command was directly given to him. Then comes this sad verse—
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. — Genesis 3:8
Prideful refusal
Here we see the beginning of prideful refusal to repent: hiding. They should have ran toward the Lord and humbly threw themselves at His mercy. They should have ran to the Father admitting what they did and weeping over their disobedience. Instead, they hid. But then it gets worse.
But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." — Genesis 3:9-12
Listen carefully to Adam’s response and you’ll see a perfect example of prideful refusal to repent. He does seem to admit or confess his sin, but he takes no responsibility and expresses no sorrow at all. He “throws Eve under the bus”—essentially, blaming his sin on his wife. He wasn’t being honest. Eve didn’t force him to do anything. Adam made a choice—and it was the wrong choice. Adam’s response was so self-righteous and proud that he even indirectly blamed God when he said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me.” Oh Adam, seriously? He was basically saying—ya know, that wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t decide to give me a wife. It’s not my fault—it’s yours! Well, let’s see if Eve responds a little better.
Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." — Genesis 3:13
In so many words Eve was saying—the devil made me do it. It wasn’t my fault. He pushed me into it. I couldn’t help it.
Be humble
My dear brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, in Christ, I plead with you to be humble. When the Lord corrects you in some way, don’t get defensive. Don’t deny it. The Lord knows the truth anyhow, right? Don’t be proud and stubborn. Don’t confess your sin, but then, blame someone else. Take responsibility for what you do, and express sorrow. In other words, learn to say, “I’m sorry.”
I don’t want you to think I’m only talking about “big sins.” Yes, if we do something really terrible like steal money or commit adultery, then we should humbly repent. But I’m talking about the “little” things—which really aren’t little in God’s eyes: being dishonest on your taxes, lying to your spouse, pilfering at work, being inconsiderate, hurting someone, not giving generously, neglecting the poor, complaining, slandering, sexual impurity, and anything else that is unlike Christ.
Let’s not play dumb and deny our sin. Let’s not play it down either. Be honest to the core. This humble practice of repentance is the very gateway into spiritual life. Prideful refusal to repent, not only hurts God and strains relationships, but it ultimately hurts our own lives.
Let humility be your ever-present companion in this pursuit of God and you’ll find your relationship with Him will bloom like a thousand flowers. I love you all and am praying for you.
If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. — Proverbs 1:23